System and method of manufacturing character-shaped snack food product

Abstract

A snack food product contains potato product and corn product. The potato product provides flavor and the corn product acts as a hardening agent to add rigidity, stiffness, and structural integrity to reduce product breakage during packaging, shipping, and handling. The potato and corn ingredients mixed with other ingredients to provide a dough mixture. The dual-sheeted dough is cut into character-shaped forms. An air-assisted cylindrical cutter with air holes within the character cut-outs is used to at least partially detach the character-shaped forms from the web scrap. A frictional surface removes any remaining dangling snack food forms from the web scrap. The character-shaped forms routed to a fryer to cook the snack food product. The snack food product is rotated while cooking in the fryer with jet streams of cooking oil from nozzles about the fryer bath. The snack food product is inspected and package for shipment.

1 . A method of making a snack food product, comprising: 
 mixing ingredients to provide an agglomerated mixture;    rolling the agglomerated mixture into a dual-sheeted dough;    cutting character-shaped forms from the dual-sheeted dough;    transporting the character-shaped forms into a fryer for cooking; and    rotating the character-shaped forms while in the fryer to cook multiple sides of the character-shaped form.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of rotating the character-shaped forms includes the step of providing a fryer bath containing cooking oil for cooking the character-shaped forms, wherein the character-shaped forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil have a first surface submerged in the cooking oil and a second surface above the surface of the cooking oil.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of rotating the character-shaped forms further includes the step of providing nozzles positioned above the fryer bath and pointed in the direction of the fryer bath.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of rotating the character-shaped forms further includes the step of injecting streams of cooking oil from the nozzles into the fryer bath to flip the character-shaped forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil so that the second surface becomes submerged in the cooking oil.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the step of rotating the character-shaped forms further includes the step of pumping cooking oil from the fryer bath through a conduit to the nozzles.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further including the step of producing web scrap from the dual-sheeted dough after the step of the cutting character-shaped forms.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , further including the step of returning the web scrap to mix with the agglomerated mixture prior to the step of rolling the agglomerated mixture into a dual-sheeted dough.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of transporting the character-shaped forms into a fryer includes the step of placing the character-shaped forms on a conveyor belt which terminates above the fryer so that the character-shaped forms fall into the fryer.  
   
   
       9 . A method of making a snack food product, comprising: 
 mixing ingredients to provide an agglomerated mixture;    forming a sheeted dough from the agglomerated mixture;    cutting snack food forms from the sheeted dough;    transporting the snack food forms into a fryer; and    rotating the snack food forms while in the fryer to cook multiple sides of the snack food form.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of rotating the snack food forms includes the step of providing a fryer bath containing cooking oil for cooking the snack food forms, wherein the snack food forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil have a first surface submerged in the cooking oil and a second surface above the surface of the cooking oil.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the step of rotating the snack food forms further includes the step of providing nozzles positioned above the fryer bath and pointed in the direction of the fryer bath.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the step of rotating the snack food forms further includes the step of injecting streams of cooking oil from the nozzles into the fryer bath to flip the snack food forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil so that the second surface becomes submerged in the cooking oil.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the step of rotating the snack food forms further includes the step of pumping cooking oil from the fryer bath through a conduit to the nozzles.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming a sheeted dough includes the steps of: 
 forming a first sheet of dough from the agglomerated mixture;    forming a second sheet of dough from the agglomerated mixture; and    combining the first and second sheets of dough to provide a dual-sheeted dough.    
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 9 , further including the step of producing web scrap from the sheeted dough after the step of the cutting snack food forms.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , further including the step of returning the web scrap to mix with the agglomerated mixture prior to the step of forming the sheeted dough.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of transporting the snack food forms into a fryer includes the step of placing the snack food forms on a conveyor belt which terminates above the fryer so that the snack food forms fall into the fryer.  
   
   
       18 . A manufacturing system for making a snack food product, comprising: 
 means for mixing ingredients to provide an agglomerated mixture;    means for forming a sheeted dough from the agglomerated mixture;    means for cutting snack food forms from the sheeted dough;    means for transporting the snack food forms away from the sheeted dough;    a fryer for receiving the transported snack food forms; and    means for rotating the snack food forms while in the fryer to cook multiple sides of the snack food form.    
   
   
       19 . The manufacturing system of  claim 18 , wherein the fryer containing cooking oil for cooking the snack food forms, wherein the snack food forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil have a first surface submerged in the cooking oil and a second surface above the surface of the cooking oil.  
   
   
       20 . The manufacturing system of  claim 19 , further including nozzles positioned above the fryer bath and pointed in the direction of the fryer bath.  
   
   
       21 . The manufacturing system of  claim 20 , wherein the nozzles inject streams of cooking oil into the fryer bath to flip the snack food forms floating on the surface of the cooking oil so that the second surface becomes submerged in the cooking oil.  
   
   
       22 . The manufacturing system of  claim 21 , further including a conduit for pumping cooking oil from the fryer bath to the nozzles.